


Darkness Falls

by madamecrimson



Series: Anything Like That [3]
Category: Buzzfeed Unsolved (Web Series), Watcher Entertainment, Watcher Entertainment (Web Series)
Genre: Anxiety, Anxiety Attacks, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fear, M/M, Panic Attacks, Spoilers for "Raw", Unresolved Emotional Tension, Unresolved Romantic Tension, Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-08
Updated: 2020-02-08
Packaged: 2021-02-27 21:01:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,526
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22592206
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/madamecrimson/pseuds/madamecrimson
Summary: "So," Shane said, nodding toward where they'd filmed Watcher Weekly. "Apparently we can all fit on that couch.""Barely," Ryan snorted. "It's a really bad angle. We can't face each other at all.""True," Shane agreed, rocking back a bit on his heels. "I guess next week it'll be you and Steven on the couch.""No, it'll be you and me on the couch," Ryan corrected. "That's the order.""There is no order," Shane replied, rolling his eyes."Yes. There is," Ryan returned."No, there's not," Shane argued. "It went you and me, Steven and me, you and Steven, then Steven and me again. How is that an order?"
Relationships: Background Shane Madej/Sara Rubin - Relationship, Ryan Bergara/Shane Madej
Series: Anything Like That [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1622158
Comments: 5
Kudos: 101





	Darkness Falls

"Because," Ryan countered, "the next one would be you and me, then Steven and--wait. It would be--" 

"See? Even you can't list the order because there isn't one!" Shane laughed. 

"I was still figuring it out!" Ryan defended. 

"You don't need to figure out an order if there is one already in place," Shane said back. 

"Fine, I was establishing an order," Ryan replied. 

"No you weren't! You were acting as if there already was one," Shane retorted. 

"Shut up Shane," Ryan muttered, trying to hide the grin that threatened to spread across his face. He looked back toward the couch. "It's super weird that Steven announces whenever someone touches him," Ryan remarked. 

"I know. Just another little quirk from Big Apple Steven," Shane agreed. 

There was a pause before Ryan spoke again. "At least he doesn't give one-armed awkward uncle hugs." 

Shane pulled his hands out of his pockets and placed his hands on his hips. "Are you implying that I give awkward uncle hugs?" 

"You forgot one-armed," Ryan returned. "At least Steven knows how to give a proper hug." 

"Oh we're gettin' all propa now!" Shane remarked with an exaggerated Southern Belle accent. "Then pray tell, Mr. Bergara, whateva is the "propa" way?" 

"I can't believe you don't know this already," Ryan chided, "but..." His voice trailed off and soon he was stepping into Shane's space as he wrapped his arms around him tightly. Shane froze where he stood momentarily before encircling his arms around Ryan's back and drawing the other man flush against him. 

Ryan could feel his heart pounding in his chest and he briefly wondered if there was a point where a heart could beat hard enough that it could be heard without a stethoscope. Shane felt warm and solid, and it was odd for Ryan to be the shorter one in an embrace. Sure, he wasn't as tall as his Shane, but Ryan had always been the taller one in every relationship he had had. Ryan noticed that he could really smell Shane when he was this close to him. Shane and he usually sat near enough to one another that they would be able to catch a whiff of the others scent so it wasn't unfamiliar. But now it was all around him and it made Ryan feel light-headed. 

They stood like that for some time, awkwardly stiff yet also holding tightly to one another. Eventually, Ryan allowed his head to drop against Shane's chest, and one of Shane's hands came up to rest on the back of Ryan's head in a way that felt strikingly natural. The fabric of Shane's shirt was soft against Ryan's cheek and he resisted the strong urge to nuzzle into it.

Steven's jaw dropped from where he was sitting, feeling almost like he was watching a movie; he immediately texted Sara only to quickly receive an enthusiastic response and an ardent demand for details. However, Steven had forgotten to put his phone on silent and the buzz from Sara's incoming message startled Shane and Ryan, and they immediately pulled apart. 

"So yeah, like that," Ryan mumbled and Shane made a sound of agreement. 

An awkward tension hung between them, and Ryan could feel the weight of it in the pit of his stomach. "Do you want to come over and watch that new Ducournau indie horror flick?" Ryan blurted out quickly before his loud mind could talk him out of it. He looked up to meet Shane's gaze, and noticed that Shane's cheeks were red, his lips parted slightly, and that he hadn't given Ryan a response. 

"It's the same person who wrote "Raw." You know, with the college girl who wants to become a vet and then discovers a craving for human flesh?" Ryan reminded him. 

"Oh right, "Raw"!" Shane recalled. "Yeah, let's do that. Also, your French pronunciation is terrible." 

"Well excuse me Mr. Midwest, we didn't all grow up as fancy as you did!" Ryan shot back as they began heading toward their respective cars. 

"Growing up in the Midwest doesn't imply anything about wealth. You just suck at foreign languages," Shane replied. 

Ryan rolled his eyes as he slid into the driver's seat of his car, but his fingers were shaking where he gripped the steering wheel and he felt his stomach flip. He was puzzled by his reaction. It was just _Shane_. His colleague. His co-host. His best friend. And yet he felt nervous, a flutter in his chest. It wasn't as if this were a date or anything. Ryan felt his cheeks burn at the thought. They'd done this hundreds of times, well, watched indie subtitled horror movies together, not the...other thing that happened earlier. Ryan shook his head, thinking how odd it was to have to defend himself to his own consciousness. He was overthinking things. Again. And he knew that if Shane could read minds or even if he just read Ryan's face, he could tell that that was happening. At least with the latter, Shane wouldn't know why. Ryan drew in a shaky breath before he began driving back to his apartment. 

By the time Ryan had arrived at his apartment, Shane was already there, cellphone in hand as he lingered by the door. Ryan cursed inwardly. His internal freak outs really took up way too much of his time. But he couldn't help it. 

"I took a different route this time," Ryan stated as he approached the door and unlocked it. He was extremely thankful at that moment that Shane didn't press further. 

Ryan began making the popcorn and Shane pulled up the movie for them to watch, sliding off his shoes. Shane relaxed back against the couch cushions It struck Ryan that Shane had come over so many times now that he didn't even need time to figure out Ryan's remote, didn't hesitate to prop his long legs up on the coffee table. He was so lost in thought that he didn't realize that the microwave had stopped and was now going through its second phase of obnoxious beeping.

"You gonna get that?" Shane asked from the couch. 

"Huh? Oh, right," Ryan responded, feeling his cheeks burn as he took the popcorn out of the microwave. 

He felt like he was being ridiculous. It was _one_ hug. It wasn't as if they hadn't hugged each other before. Ryan pushed away the thought that this hug had been more than just a hug as he sat down beside Shane, setting the popcorn down on the coffee table in between them. Shane pressed play and they began watching the movie. It was your pretty standard horror stuff but, as with "Raw" it had more of an unsettling edge and subject matter to it. Ryan could handle cinematic gore, blood, murder, even ghosts. But demons and jump scares were another story, far too hard to be predicted and thus ten times more frightening. Every time he jerked in fright after a jump scare popped up, or curled into himself at the sight of the demon, he could hear Shane chuckle beside him. The movie paused for some reason and Shane stood up to try and fix it. 

"The only reason you're not jumping is because you're a robot," Ryan accused. 

"So you keep saying," Shane returned. 

"Well why else would you just sit there when--" 

A huge clap of thunder could be heard outside and Ryan's entire apartment became cloaked in darkness. 

"Oh fuck," Ryan complained, his voice coming out shaky and small. 

"You're not scared of the dark, are you?" Shane teased. 

"Of course not you idiot," Ryan retorted though his voice still trembled. 

He wasn't afraid of the dark, or thunderstorms either for that matter. He just hated the unknown. He knew his apartment probably wasn't being attacked by a demon. Although, he had gone against Father Thomas' strict instructions of not inviting that sort of evil into their lives. And he hadn't refilled his holy water lately...

Another clap of thunder had Ryan squeaking and leaping up from the couch. Normally, he actually slept through thunderstorms but it was pitch black, they had just been watching a movie about a demon they--

Ryan felt something touch his shoulder and he shrieked, cursing as he slammed his leg into the coffee table. "Fuck."

"Are you okay?" Shane asked.

Ryan hadn't realized that he was stiff and shaking, his shoulders tensing up to his ears. "Oh yeah, I'm totally fine. It's not like we've been chasing after spirits and demons for the last few--" Another loud rumble of thunder had Ryan jumping again and it sent him stumbling into something that was warm and solid. A familiar scent curled around his nose and he sighed with relief as he leaned his head against Shane's chest. Shane's heartbeat sounded a bit fast, but maybe it was always like that. Ryan couldn't be sure. 

"You uh, got a flashlight?" Shane inquired, his voice slightly rising in pitch as it did whenever he was nervous or flustered. 

"Well yes but--" Ryan started before Shane interrupted him. 

"Fuck Ryan, did you really run through all your batteries reading Goosebumps books under your blankets again?" Shane sighed. 

"I always did that as a kid!" Ryan defended. "It creates the proper atmosphere." 

Ryan couldn't see Shane in the darkness but he was almost certain Shane was rolling his eyes at him right now. He also noticed that Shane hadn't made any move to pull away. He hadn't put his arms around Ryan, but he hadn't pulled away. 

"Phone?" Shane suggested. 

"...did we charge them when we got here?" Ryan replied, struggling to remember. 

"Ah shit, we left them in the kitchen again didn't we?" Shane grumbled, knowing their phones were probably dead right now. 

At the next clap of thunder, Ryan let out a small whimper and felt Shane's warm arms sliding around him. 

"You afraid of thunderstorms? Shane asked, his voice strikingly gentler than when he'd inquired if Ryan was afraid of the dark. 

He felt a heat rush through him as he shook his head, tentatively encircling his arms around Shane. Ryan felt Shane's hand come up to rest on the back of his head and he leaned into the touch. Shane frowned in concern. Ryan was trembling against him, and his fingers were clutching tightly at the back of Shane's shirt. 

"It's not a demon," Shane assured him. 

"You don't know that!" Ryan shot back. "Even _you've_ said that you can't definitively say that you're 100% sure that they don't exist!" 

Shane could both hear and feel that Ryan was breathing rapidly as Ryan continued talking in a rush of words. 

"Come on man! All this shit at once? Dead cellphones, dead flashlight, power outage, thunderstorm, and I am _not_ going in that fucking stairwell to mess with the f--" 

Another loud growl of thunder and Shane could hear Ryan sniffling, Ryan's whole body tight against him. "Oh, god, I--My-- the whole left side of my body is numb. Shane, I can't feel my fingers! I'm cursed aren't I? Or maybe it's a heart attack or a stroke that was brought on by--"

"Ryan," Shane said, his voice slightly more firm. "It's not a demon, or heart attack, or stroke. You're having a panic attack and now that I've said that, you're probably panicking about having a panic attack." 

Ryan didn't say anything after that, but Shane could still feel him shaking, hear him whimpering. Shane shifted slightly where he stood and began slowly rubbing circles over Ryan's back, mumbling quiet reassurances. It took awhile, but Shane could feel Ryan's shoulders drop a bit, he wasn't nearly as stiff, and the shaking and whimpering had mostly stopped. 

"I'm fucking exhausted," Ryan sighed as the adrenaline wore off. 

"I should think so," Shane replied. "I'll help you find your room."

Shane stepped back and Ryan immediately missed the contact. Shane then awkwardly grasped Ryan's wrist, and began slowly shuffling forward, feeling around for the wall and where Ryan's room might be. It occurred to Ryan that perhaps he should have been the one leading the way as it was his apartment. But when he felt his legs bump against the side of the bed, he realized that Shane was, at this point, just as familiar with Ryan's apartment layout as he was. He could feel his cheeks burn with the knowledge. 

He heard some rustling noises in front of him, and when he splayed his hand out on the bed he realized Shane had turned down his sheets and comforter. "Alright now go to sleep," Shane instructed. 

Ryan scoffed at that. "What are you, my--" Ryan's words caught in his throat, as the reminder of their episode at the St. Augustine Lighthouse played through his mind. 

_"I think when Shane is around, it's easy to forget that you're in one of the most horrifying places on Earth. Uh, and now, that he's not gonna be in there--not to say that he's like my...my Daddy or something. Like, I don't know why I said it. Have fun with that one Internet!"_

He'd desperately wanted to cut that clip out, but when word traveled around the office his hand was forced to keep it in. 

\--"grandma," he mumbled after an extremely awkward pause. 

"Not in this life sonny but perhaps in another," Shane replied in a silly old woman voice and Ryan broke out into a laugh. 

Ryan slowly slipped into bed, feeling panic rising within him again as he heard Shane's footsteps begin to retreat. "Night Ryan," Shane said. 

"Wait," Ryan replied, failing miserably at keeping the fear out of his voice. 

"You're not gonna get out of bedtime by asking for five glasses of water," Shane replied in his old woman voice again. They both knew that that was a deflection on Shane's part. 

"You're stupidly tall," Ryan commented. "I don't want you to trip over your own giraffe legs and crash into my coffee table. It's mahogany." 

"Okay, first of all, giraffes are more neck than leg. Second of all, it's not mahogany," Shane replied, by Ryan could tell that he was still standing in the doorway. 

"Whatever. Either way, they probably don't make crutches for people your size. You wouldn't be able to crouch behind your Puppet History theater as well if--" Ryan started to say.

"Alright fine, you've made your point," Shane grumbled, sliding into bed beside Ryan. 

Ryan felt his panic ease considerably. "Night Shane," he said. 

"Night Ryan," Shane yawned in reply. 

They both knew that Ryan was still scared. They both knew that that was the reason that Shane stayed. And yet it was just another piece of whatever...thing was going on between them that lurked beneath the surface. 

Ryan curled up under the covers, wishing he could reach out and hug Shane. He reasoned it was because he was scared still. That he was cold with the power being out. Instead, he bit his lip and turned in bed so that he was facing away from Shane. 

Demons were slightly less scary than the truth.


End file.
